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Yan Heyu stayed in his study all afternoon.
As dinner time approached, Ye Minqiong sent her daughter upstairs to call him.
Yan Heyan saved her document and closed her laptop.
Since her brother was occupying the study, she had to work in the living room.
“What’s up with my brother, anyway?” Her brother had come home, not said a word, and gone straight upstairs. She remembered there wasn’t a water dispenser in the study, nor had she seen him come down for water.
Ye Minqiong said, “Wen Di is with Xiao Donghan.”
“!”
Yan Heyan was dumbfounded.
“Don’t just stare blankly at me, go call your brother for dinner.”
Yan Heyan sympathized with her brother. Upstairs, she even knocked on the door extra gently. “Brother?”
“What is it?”
Yan Heyan gently pushed the door open. There was no smell of tobacco in the study, and a bouquet of balloon flowers sat in a vase on the table.
“Dinner’s ready. Mom wants you to come downstairs and eat.”
Yan Heyu folded the corner of the page he had finished reading and closed the bound script.
Yan Heyan saw the title on the cover, The World Pales in Comparison to You. She casually picked it up to flip through it. There were also her brother’s handwritten annotations beside it.
“There’s already a TV series, why are you reading the script?”
Yan Heyu pulled the script from her hand, answering vaguely, “Let’s go eat.”
Yan Heyan was unusually accommodating today, agreeing to everything he said. She walked behind Yan Heyu, pushing him forward with both hands like she used to when she was little.
Yan Heyu turned his head to look at her. “Do you have a new project that needs my investment?”
“...Am I that opportunistic?”
“You’re acting strangely today.”
“Because I’m your sister.”
Though seemingly unrelated, Yan Heyu understood the conversation.
He said, “I’m not as fragile as you think.”
Yan Heyan asked softly, “Are they... really together?”
“Mm.”
After that, Yan Heyan fell silent.
At the dinner table, she picked up the serving chopsticks and put food on her brother’s plate. “This dish is a new one Mom researched. Try it.”
Yan Heyu pulled his plate back. “You eat yours.” He didn’t like people putting food on his plate for him.
Worried and flustered, Yan Heyan momentarily forgot his aversion. If it weren’t for seeing him heartbroken and pitiful, she wouldn’t have been so kind as to put food on his plate.
“Brother, are you still going to pursue her?”
Ye Minqiong also looked at her son.
They were both waiting for his answer.
“Whether I pursue her or not, it’s actually the same, the same to Wen Di. To pursue her, I’d need her permission to even have a chance, and I don’t have that chance.”
Yan Heyan wasn’t quite sure what he meant. “What do you mean, pursuing her requires her permission?”
“Too many people pursue her; none of them are in her contacts.” He paused. “Neither am I.” Yan Heyu put down his bowl and chopsticks, served two bowls of soup, one for his mother and one for his sister, and gestured for them to eat.
Yan Heyan diverted her brother’s attention, saying she wanted to explore tomorrow and asked him to be her tour guide.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Anywhere, fun places. I searched for popular attractions in Jiangcheng, and they say there’s a century-old wishing tree in the old city, very effective. Lots of people queue up to make wishes on holidays. Take me to see it.”
Yan Heyu looked at his sister. “You believe in wishing trees?”
Yan Heyan didn’t believe in it; she just wanted to take her brother out to relax and prevent him from staying cooped up in his study all day.
She spoke against her true feelings, “Yes, I do. All girls believe in them.”
Yan Heyu said he’d take her tomorrow afternoon and they’d come back early in the evening, as he had an early flight back to Beijing the day after tomorrow.
Ye Minqiong worried, “Is something wrong with the company?”
“No.” Yan Heyu said he had an appointment to discuss business.
________________________________________
The century-old wishing tree was in the old city. It wasn’t originally a wishing tree; it was just a tree in a private residence. The son of the residence’s owner had a good business mind, opened up the courtyard, and set up a small wishing shop, selling ribbons for wishes and blessings, and also built a wishing pond under the tree.
As the old street prospered, this wishing tree also became popular, turning into an internet-famous check-in spot.
It was cold, and the tree had lost all its leaves, leaving only bare branches. From a distance, even the branches couldn’t be seen, just countless red blessing ribbons fluttering wildly in the wind.
Today, Wen Di took Xiao Donghan shopping. Jiangcheng’s urban area wasn’t large; they walked all the way from the commercial street to the old city street.
Xiao Donghan saw the tree from afar, covered in red. He asked Wen Di and learned it was a wishing tree. He asked her, “Want to go make a wish?”
Wen Di looked away and said, “It’s not accurate.”
Xiao Donghan didn’t pry into why she said it wasn’t accurate.
He held her hand. As they passed shops she was interested in, they would go in and browse. She liked to buy coffee cups and would buy any she liked.
“Give me one of the cups you bought today.”
Wen Di nodded, letting him choose whichever one he wanted.
Xiao Donghan wasn’t used to such a slow-paced life. He didn’t understand why they had to walk from one end of the street to the other without buying anything, but since she liked it, he accompanied her.
“I’m going back to London tomorrow afternoon,” he told Wen Di.
Wen Di was still intently looking at a shop window, gripping his pinky finger. She said, “I won’t see you off. You go to the airport yourself. I only pick up.”
“Then I’ll have to come back more often.”
“When will you come next time?”
Xiao Donghan said, “When I’m free.” He looked at his schedule. “I’ll try for a weekend, and fly back to see you.”
“......”
It was Monday today.
She stopped looking at the coffee cups and turned to face him. “You’re busy with work. You don’t need to fly so often.”
Xiao Donghan: “I’m idle anyway.”
She knew it was impossible for him to have idle time. He was busier than her parents. During the Spring Festival, her parents had two meals with her; the rest of the time, they were entertaining. She had been used to it since childhood.
“I’m not that clingy. I won’t get emotional with you because of a long-distance or international relationship.”
Xiao Donghan smiled. “I’m the one who easily gets emotional in a long-distance relationship.”
Wen Di also laughed, reaching out to hug him. “A little comfort for you.”
“Wen Di, do you want to see my manor? If you do, when the weather gets warmer and the scenery is better there, I’ll take you.”
“Let’s wait until May.”
The two chatted as they walked forward.
When they reached the entrance of a coffee shop, Xiao Donghan wanted to buy her a coffee.
Wen Di happened to be tired from walking. “Let’s sit and drink it in the shop.”
The shop was very small, with only three tables.
Wen Di sat down in a seat against the wall. Xiao Donghan ordered her coffee. “Wait for me here. I’m going out for a bit.”
“Where?”
He said, “To spend some money.”
No matter if the wish came true or not, Xiao Donghan still bought a wishing ribbon.
Someone next to him was writing, and he glanced at them, then asked the owner, “Can only be handwritten?”
The owner said, “We have pre-printed ones to your left. Pick any blessing you want.”
Xiao Donghan picked a pre-written ribbon: “Peace and Happiness.”
His handwriting was truly not good; only his signature was barely presentable. At the bottom of the ribbon, he wrote his and Wen Di’s names.
After paying, he went into the courtyard and tied the ribbon to the tree.
About ten minutes after he left, Yan Heyan and Yan Heyu arrived.
Yan Heyan asked about the prices. The most expensive was 88 yuan, the cheapest only a few yuan. She asked the owner, “Are there any more expensive ones?”
Owner: “......”
Yan Heyu looked at his sister, speechless. This was a classic case of having money with nowhere to spend it.
The owner, a shrewd businesswoman, saw Yan Heyan’s unusual demeanor and immediately changed her tune, saying, “Yes, our shop also offers private customization services.”
Yan Heyan didn’t even ask the price; she wasn’t concerned about money. She told the owner, “I want to hang the ribbon at the top of the tree.”
“No problem.” He had a lift here; it could reach any height.
Few people used to hang things at the top of the tree; it was too high, and getting up there was difficult. A few years ago, a girl came and offered him extra money to hang a ribbon and a wishing plaque at the very top.
Like the girl today, she didn’t ask for the price.
That girl came for four consecutive years, but hadn’t been back in the last two years. He wondered if she had married and moved away or gone abroad.
The owner brought the largest ribbon and a waterproof pen to Yan Heyan.
Yan Heyan told her brother to wait outside the shop and not to peek at her wish.
She wasn’t one for sentimentality. She wrote: [I hope Yan Heyu’s dreams come true and he finds a home in Jiangcheng.]
Finished writing, she returned the pen to the owner.
The owner was surprised: “Finished so quickly?”
“Mm, a wish isn’t about length, just about being effective.”
“...Yes, yes, yes.”
The owner agreed, then called a relative from home to give Yan Heyan VIP access.
Yan Heyu stood in a corner of the courtyard, looking up at the person on the lift. He couldn’t understand what Yan Heyan was up to.
It was just a wishing ribbon; what was the difference between hanging it at the bottom of the tree and at the top?
“Be careful.”
He reminded his sister.
“It’s fine.” Yan Heyan didn’t believe that a blessing ribbon from her would make her brother and Wen Di reconcile. She just wanted to give her brother a blessing, and she didn’t want his name to be seen, so hanging it higher was better.
Reaching the top of the ladder, she steadied herself.
Someone had also hung ribbons at the top of the tree, just a few, and some self-made wishing plaques, fastened with thin wire. It seemed this was the ultimate VIP treatment.
Wishing ribbons couldn’t withstand wind and sun, but self-made, laminated wishing plaques could.
Yan Heyan now had an idea. If her brother still hadn’t won over Wen Di next year, she would order a custom wishing plaque and hang it there.
Curiosity got the better of her. Yan Heyan didn’t bother to tie her own blessing ribbon and started looking at the contents of the wishing plaques.
The first wishing plaque, tied with a red ribbon, was dated six years ago during Spring Festival, with a simple message:
[I have a crush on someone, I hope he pursues me. - Di]
After reading the second wishing plaque, Yan Heyan froze. She quickly pulled out her phone and photographed all four wishing plaques. “Brother.”
She looked down, searching everywhere for Yan Heyu in the entire courtyard, but couldn’t find him.
Yan Heyu was in the shop, asking the owner for a ribbon to write a blessing for Wen Di.
[Peace and joy. - Yan]
His phone vibrated. His sister had sent him several photos.
Yan Heyu paid first, scanning the QR code to pay for both his sister’s wishing ribbon and his own, then he opened the photos. There were four, representing four years of wishes.
[I have a crush on someone, I hope he pursues me. - Di]
[My wish from last year came true. You pursued me for three months and five days. Every time I wanted to see you, you always appeared. The world pales in comparison to you. This year, I wish for fewer arguments. I don’t like arguing with you, and I don’t like the silent treatment. - Di]
[Husband, Happy New Year. Unfortunately, last year’s wish didn’t come true. We still had the silent treatment. This year, I’m wishing for the same as last year. - Di]
[Husband, Happy New Year. The wish from the year before last still hasn’t come true; maybe it never will. My wish this year is for you to love me forever. You said your wish was the same as mine, hoping I would love you forever. I’m telling you here, your wish came true, but I won’t tell you. Look forward to it again, you said you’d come to Jiangcheng next year. I took you seriously. - Di]
“Brother.” Yan Heyan finished tying her blessing ribbon and went back into the shop to find him.
Yan Heyu saved the photos and asked his sister in a hoarse voice, “Are there any other wishing plaques?”
Yan Heyan shook her head. “Only four years of wishing plaques. None for the past two years. You two broke up; she definitely wouldn’t come again.”
Leaving the small shop, Yan Heyu looked at the wishing tree. The area beneath it was full of people, busy tying wishing ribbons.
Yan Heyan asked him if he wanted to go up and look, as the ladder hadn’t been put away yet.
“No, I won’t look.”
“Right, the ladder’s so high. If you fell and broke your leg, Wen Di would like you even less.”
“......”
Yan Heyan linked arms with her brother and walked out of the courtyard.
She didn’t know which way to go. She glanced at her brother; he was probably being tormented by those wishing plaques right now, so asking him would be useless.
________________________________________
The next day, Xiao Donghan left Jiangcheng, and Wen Di also booked a flight to Beijing.
The first draft of the script for Behind Desire was complete, and she went to find Zhou Mingqian.
Just out of the airport, Wen Di received a call from Qu Pei, asking when she would be in Beijing so they could have a meal together.
Wen Di said, “Master and disciple, we have a telepathic connection. I just arrived in Beijing.”
Dinner was set for the evening.
Qu Pei arranged to meet Wen Di because she had learned about her relationship with Xiao Donghan and wanted to talk to her.
After a long time, Qu Pei looked much more energetic than the last time they met.
Qu Pei looked at her. “Don’t you have any good news to tell me?”
Wen Di pretended not to understand and told her that the first draft of the script was finished.
“I’m not interested in your script.”
Wen Di smiled. “Did Second Aunt tell you?”
“Not exactly.” Qu Pei said truthfully, “A friend’s son was absolutely set on pursuing you and asked me for your contact information. I thought he had good qualities in every aspect, and his family was comparable to yours, so I asked your second aunt how you’ve been doing lately.”
Wen Qizhen told her that Wen Di was already taken, by Xiao Donghan.
“I think your agreeing to Xiao Donghan is no surprise; you wouldn’t be interested in just anyone.”
Wen Di was puzzled. “Then why did you specially invite me to dinner to talk about this?”
“It’s all because of my son and daughter-in-law. I said at the time that you had a boyfriend, and it was Xiao Donghan. They got so worried, they insisted I meet with you and tell you all about the Xiao family’s situation in detail, so you wouldn’t act impulsively.”
Saying this, Qu Pei also smiled helplessly. “You must have carefully considered it before agreeing to Xiao Donghan.” But she couldn’t let down her son’s good intentions.
When she was hospitalized before, Wen Di was the one who accompanied her, busying herself, coming to the hospital every day to take care of her. Her son and daughter-in-law had always remembered this kindness.
The young couple worked in London, and Xiao Ning Group was a major client of their company, so they knew a bit about the Xiao family’s situation.
Wen Di said gratefully, “Please thank my brother and sister-in-law for me.”
“That’s too formal. As long as you don’t think we’re meddling.”
“How could I?”
Qu Pei laughed, “I’ve also become foolish from being sick these past two years. On the way here, I suddenly remembered, isn’t Shen Tang Xiao Donghan’s cousin? She knows the Xiao family situation better than anyone.”
“My son asked me to remind you that Xiao Donghan’s uncle, Xiao Zhengtao, is very cunning and is most at odds with Xiao Donghan. The two have been openly and secretly battling for control of Xiao Ning.”
Wen Di knew of Xiao Zhengtao. She had heard Shen Tang mention him a few times before, but Xiao Donghan hadn’t said anything about him. However cunning he might be, he probably wasn’t as cunning as Xiao Donghan.
Qu Pei relayed all of her son’s words, then brought up Zhou Mingqian, mentioning that the movie The World Pales in Comparison to You was also directed by Zhou Mingqian.
Wen Di was startled. “They asked him to direct it?”
She felt Zhou Mingqian wouldn’t take the job.
________________________________________
Wen Di’s sixth sense was very accurate; Zhou Mingqian indeed had no plans to take the job.
It wasn’t that he wouldn’t give Yan Heyu face, but he felt he couldn’t create anything new.
“I didn’t expect you to buy the film rights,” Zhou Mingqian said. “Even Guan Xiangmu couldn’t find out the source of the funds.”
Yan Heyu: “It’s right that he couldn’t find out.”
If even Guan Xiangmu couldn’t find out, then Wen Di definitely wouldn’t be able to.
Zhou Mingqian tossed him a cigarette. “The TV series version of The World Pales in Comparison to You was too successful; even I followed it. It’s too hard for a movie to surpass the TV series’ reputation. Most importantly, I don’t like rehashing old ideas.”
Yan Heyu put the cigarette aside, opened the script he brought, turned to the folded page, and handed it to Zhou Mingqian.
“What do you mean?” Zhou Mingqian took it.
Yan Heyu told him to look at the highlighted section. “Cut in from this point. This is content not present in the TV series. It won’t be rehashing old ideas.”
Zhou Mingqian looked at that section. He remembered this sentence, a passage written by the female protagonist in her diary:
[This year, I saw the starry sky of the Sahara, Victoria Falls, the Northern Lights in Iceland, and the Cliffs of Moher. No matter how beautiful the world is, it pales in comparison to you.]
Zhou Mingqian looked up. “What are you trying to do?”
“Shoot on location in these places.”
“Do you know how much money it would burn to achieve the effect you want?”
“I’ll pay for it; you don’t have to. Why are you distressed?”
Zhou Mingqian made him face a reality. “Wen Di doesn’t want you anymore, and you still want to film this?”
“Yes, I’ll film it. This is the only work that has something to do with me.”
“It would have been great if you had this realization earlier.”
Zhou Mingqian put the script away. “I’ll take it home and study it carefully.”
This meant he agreed to take on the job.
He added, “But I’ll read Behind Desire first. If the Behind Desire script is suitable, I’ll film that one first. Yours will be scheduled after that, first come, first served.”
“No problem.”
That night, Yan Heyu returned to the villa.
The house was brightly lit. The housekeeper and a few others were packing items; they were heading to Jiangcheng tomorrow.
Knowing he was returning, the housekeeper had someone warm him a cup of milk.
His sleep problems were now known to everyone in the household.
“No need to bring so much. I only spend one or two months a year in Jiangcheng at most.”
The housekeeper’s point was that if they didn’t bring them, they would be wasted in the villa anyway. After all, he only visited the villa once every six months or so. If they didn’t live there, the villa would be covered in dust.
Yan Heyu glanced at the coffee table; the snack bowl was empty.
Two years had passed, and the snacks had long expired and been thrown away.
The magazines Wen Di liked to read were still on the armrest of the sofa.
“Are the clothes you want to take packed?” he asked.
The housekeeper said, “Half are packed, half left here. Some gift boxes in the walk-in closet haven’t been opened yet, so we can’t tell what they are; we’ve taken all of them.”
Yan Heyu nodded slightly, carried the milk upstairs. He didn’t plan to stay overnight here; he would return to the old family home.
He came today to find some of Wen Di’s manuscripts from when she created The World Pales in Comparison to You. He hadn’t thrown them away; he had kept them all for her in his bookshelf.
Just now, the housekeeper said only half of the clothes were packed, so he went to the bedroom to see if there were any other clothes he wanted to take to Jiangcheng.
Passing the bed, he didn’t look, but his peripheral vision still caught the two pillows stacked together on the headboard.
He hadn’t felt the bedroom was large before, but today it took him dozens of seconds to reach the walk-in closet.
Yan Heyu opened the closet door. Unexpectedly, the first thing he saw was a row of Wen Di’s dresses. Aunt Cui must have organized her clothes into one closet, and he had accidentally opened it.
He closed the closet door and paused in front of the wardrobe for half a minute. He didn’t check for any more clothes he needed to take and left the bedroom.
He found all the manuscripts and put them in a document bag.
The milk on the table had gotten cold, and only then did Yan Heyu remember to drink it.
________________________________________
The next time he saw Wen Di was on a Saturday evening in late April.
The weather had turned warmer, and Jiang Chengyu’s family was having another barbecue gathering. He saw the message in the group chat and went after finishing work.
Assistant Kang used the time on the road to report on the situation in the North China market to Yan Heyu. Lately, his boss had been busy with Jingyue’s other investments and hadn’t inquired about anything related to Xiao Ning.
But now, he had to report.
“Mr. Yan, last quarter, our North China market was again taken over by Xiao Ning by 10%.” This figure was somewhat startling; he also felt it was bad when he saw it.
“With the Jiang family’s resources paving the way, Xiao Ning’s market expansion has been very smooth.”
He wasn’t sure when it started, but hearing “Jiang family” felt a bit strange to Yan Heyu. Losing 10% of the market was no longer a small problem.
He couldn’t just surrender the market.
“Next, things will proceed as they should. Xiao Donghan won’t stop competing with me for the market, and I don’t need to continue letting him win.”
Kang Bo: “I’ll arrange it as soon as possible.”
The car stopped at the entrance of Jiang Chengyu’s villa. The parking area in the yard was full. After Yan Heyu got out, the driver turned the car around and drove away.
It was lively tonight, with more than a dozen people present.
They were so engrossed in playing mahjong that it wasn’t until Yan Heyu stood by the mahjong table that Qin Xing noticed him. “Brother Yan, how come... you’re here?”
“Why can’t I be here?” Yan Heyu had been busy until now and hadn’t even had dinner. “You guys play first. I’ll get something to eat.”
“Hey, Brother Yan.”
Fu Yanzhou spoke up, “It’s no use calling him back. The yard is only so big; it’s just a matter of encountering him a minute earlier or later.”
Qin Xing sighed. Regardless, he still didn’t want Yan Heyu to be publicly embarrassed.
Yan Heyu headed straight for the barbecue grill. As he got closer, he saw Xiao Donghan, hidden by Jiang Chengyu. The two were about the same height. Jiang Chengyu was standing on the outside, so he hadn’t noticed who the person inside was.
If Xiao Donghan was there, Wen Di must be too, because Xiao Donghan wouldn’t come to see Shen Tang for anything less than a significant matter not involving Xiao Ning Group’s major interests.
Wen Di was also blocked on the inside by Shen Tang.
Jiang Chengyu was waiting for Shen Tang to grill scallops for him, while Xiao Donghan held a plate, waiting for the shrimp that Wen Di hadn’t finished grilling yet.
Wen Di said, “This isn’t grilled well. I’ll grill another one for you.”
Xiao Donghan: “It’s fine, I’ll eat it as is.”
Yan Heyu wanted to retreat. Before he could turn around, they looked up and saw him.
Seeing him, everyone was startled.
Shen Tang didn’t like Yan Heyu because he had hurt Wen Di, but in this situation, she couldn’t ignore Yan Heyu. “The scallops just finished grilling. Here, have some first.”
“Thank you.”
Shen Tang put two scallops on his plate.
Yan Heyu didn’t look at Wen Di. He took his plate to the card table.
Jiang Chengyu followed him. In the past, when Wen Di wasn’t with Xiao Donghan, he could taunt Yan Heyu, but not now. “I thought you were still on a business trip, otherwise I would have told you beforehand.”
Yan Heyu: “It’s nothing. You go accompany Shen Tang.”
Qin Xing saw Yan Heyu coming and offered his seat. “Brother Yan, have a seat.”
Yan Heyu didn’t decline, sat down, and placed his plate to the side.
He asked, “What are we winning tonight?”
Fu Yanzhou: “Don’t even think about winning. If you lose, that sports car of yours is mine.”
Yan Heyu had them put away the mahjong and take out a deck of cards. He rolled up his sleeves and said, “You can’t beat me.”
Qin Xing had seen Fu Yanzhou’s shuffling speed, but compared to Yan Heyu now, Yan Heyu seemed faster.
The courtyard was quiet, with only the rustling sound of cards being shuffled.
They all thought Yan Heyu was sure to lose tonight because Wen Di was there, and he must be feeling very down.
But from the first hand to the last, he won every single one.
The last time he played cards and calculated so seriously was two years ago, when he won the club’s prize.
After the last hand ended, Yan Heyu stood up. “You guys play.” He looked at Qin Xing. “Drive me somewhere.”
The black SUV disappeared into the villa area, and the lively sounds of the courtyard faded away. Qin Xing asked him, “Brother Yan, where to?”
Yan Heyu was leaning back in his seat, resting with his eyes closed. He said, “To the company. Overtime.”
Qin Xing tried to make conversation to break the silence. “I thought you were sure to lose tonight.”
Yan Heyu: “That sports car of mine is Wen Di’s favorite.”
So, he wouldn’t lose it to anyone else.
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